Oldest Korean Protestant Church Marks 120th Anniversary

SEOUL, South Korea - The oldest Korean Protestant church marks its 120th anniversary this week, following a commemorative festival on Oct 9th.

|PIC1|On the Sunday before the 120th anniversary of Chungdong Jeil Church, “The 120th Commemorative Festival of the Founding” was held to celebrate the historic anniversary. The festival included a commemorative service, an unveiling ceremony of a Korean signboard, and a pledging ceremony for organ donation.

Attendants also visited the tomb of the Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller, who came to Korea as the first Methodist missionary from the United States in 1885 and established Bethel Church, the predecessor of the present Chungdong Jeil Church.

During the commemorative service, Bishop Kyoung Ha Shin, President of the Council of Bishops of the Korean Methodist Church, said in his sermon that Chungdong Jeil Church was not just one of many churches.

“It is the history of the Korean Methodist Church itself,” he said, “and the mother church of all Korean Methodist churches. It is a church like the stone that Jacob set up as a pillar at Bethel."

The Rev. Young Jun Cho, who serves as the 21st head minister of Chungdong Jeil Church, said, "Celebrating the 120th anniversary, I came to think a lot about the Rev. Appenzeller.”

“The church will focus on mission, following his will," he added.

|PIC2|As a first Methodist missionary to Korea, Appenzeller arrived in the country with his wife on April 5th in 1885.

It was from that moment that the Pennsylvania native established the Methodist church in Korea and witnessed throughout the country. In addition, Appenzeller founded Pai Chai Hak Dang, the first modern Western-styled school and the predecessor of present-day Paichai University. The Methodist pioneer is also well-known for having participated in the translation of the Bible into Korean with other missionaries.

In 1902, at the age of 44, Appenzeller drowned while journeying to a southern port city, Mokpo, to attend a meeting for Bible translation.

He was later buried at the Yanhwajin Foreigners' Cemetery, the grave site of 40 missionaries sent by the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Since its founding in 19th century, the Korean Methodist Church has dramatically developed as one of major Protestant Denominations in Korea.

In 2001, the denomination comprised 5,262 churches, 1394,514 members, and 7,298 ministers. There were six universities established under the Methodist spirit, including Paichai. In addition, the denomination had its own theological seminary, the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul. It also had six theological institutes and 54 junior high and high schools.




[Editor's Note: Jae Gwang Ryoo reported from Seoul for this article.]





Jae Gwang Ryoo
and Madison Y. Kim
Christian Today Correspondents